2 Vie for Stripped-Down Schools Post in N.C.

Both candidates for state superintendent of public instruction in
North Carolina feel that the post can be an effective bully pulpit on
education issues.

If that doesn't work out, then the job may mean doing nothing at
all.

Former teacher and school administrator Mike Ward and former college
professor Vernon Robinson move toward the Nov. 5 election seeking a
position that was drastically overhauled and stripped of its authority
by state lawmakers and the state school board less than two years
ago.

With the change in the state education agency's structure and the
state superintendent's minimal new job description, some people are
wondering why anyone is running for the job, even with its $91,000
annual salary.

Before lawmakers handed control over the schools to the state board
of education, leadership of schools in North Carolina overlapped,
leaving the governor, the legislature, the state board, and the
superintendent to fight over territory and education policy.

Because the superintendent's position was created by the state
constitution, the legislature would have to pass a constitutional
amendment and submit it to the voters to formally abolish the job.

The candidates for the superintendency, however, are not focusing on
what they might have already lost. Instead, they are trying to convince
voters of what is left that they can do.

"I'm focused on ensuring that the department of public instruction
helps to lead the way to find promising programs to help schools with
fiscal accountability and strong student performance," said Mr. Ward,
the Democratic candidate and the executive director of the North
Carolina Standards Board for Public School Administration.

Republican candidate Vernon Robinson, a former professor at
Winston-Salem College, feels that the formal authority of the
superintendent's position is irrelevant.

After an unsuccessful run for the job in 1992, Mr. Robinson formed
the North Carolina Education Reform Foundation, which started to market
ideas such as charter schools. He is now its executive director.

"As superintendent, I think it would be healthy to worry whether or
not we are meeting the needs of the customer and to focus the system on
what individual parents want for their children," Mr. Robinson
said.

Still Relevant

While the candidates disagree on issues such as school vouchers--Mr.
Ward opposes them, and Mr. Robinson is a vigorous supporter--they agree
that the superintendent's position could work well as a platform for
drawing attention to school issues.

"The job has changed," said Mr. Robinson, but, he added, "the state
board is not immutable."

The burden may actually be heavier on the state superintendent than
it was under the old setup, an optimistic Mr. Ward said.

"The new alignment of authority is consistent with what we find with
local school districts, with the superintendent playing a very active
role in the position," he said.

Local school superintendents, however, generally have strong
management and executive powers in addition to an impressive title.

State education officials agree that the office of state
superintendent still holds some significance.

"It's a very important race," Edwin Dunlap, the executive director
of the North Carolina School Boards Association, said. "Although
authority was transferred, the superintendent is still a member of the
Council of Chief State School Officers and, in my opinion, plays a part
in what is happening across North Carolina."

The new structure has simplified things, said Weaver Rogers, the
executive director of the North Carolina state board of education. He
added that the board is not likely to completely overlook whomever
voters choose. "The state board has always had a working relationship
with the office, and I assume that will continue."

Super Tuesday

Voters in five states will go to the polls Nov. 5 to choose
candidates for state schools superintendent. This list shows the
candidates and the party affiliations in states where the post is a
partisan position:

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